Eugene Election–Almost Over!

So one of the weirdest City Council elections in recent memory is finally going to be done with tomorrow. (At least until the end of this year, when the same seat will be up for grabs once again.)

For now, it looks like Mathieu Eugene — who, as his opponent Harry Schiffman points out in the literature pictured above, has had some residency issues — is finally going to claim the seat, which was previously held by Representative Yvette Clarke.

Despite his embarrassing setback, Eugene still has the support of Clarke (and her still-influential mother Una) as well as from health care union SEIU/1199, prompting one City Council supporter of candidate Wellington Sharpe to tell me, “Supporter of Sharpe as I am, I would be shocked if Eugene didn’t win.”

Next up, maybe, questions about Eugene’s campaign spending. According to the Campaign Finance Board’s website, as of April 13th, he raised $9,950 and spent $86,502.

According to a source familiar with the records, the $56,897 spent at Astoria Graphic printing campaign literature was really a payment of only $568.97. Which means that the gap isn’t nearly as great as it appears. But still, how does that happen?